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Looking for impresive looking things that can be used on a PHP/javascript page...

K

KevySaysBeNice

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 7, 2001
Messages
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I know the title probably makes this question seem really dumb, but basically I'm going to be redesigning a website I made about 4 months ago (www.oktocry.com), and I'd like to make it look better and be more functional. The first website was the first "real" website I've ever made, and I was very sloppy. I started out pretty good, makign sure things validated and where up to web standards, but things fell apart when I started sort of hacking things together. It's still a pretty OK made site, but not great.

OK back on topic:

Anyway I'm looking for a list of "tips" as far as "tricks" for how to give a website an impressive look/feel.

For instance:
-Making rounded corners on boxes/buttons/etc using CSS/Javascript instead of images
(I already sort of know how to do this, or I have a pretty good guide)

I realize this question is terrible and very vauge, but any ideas or hints you might have would be awesome, or things you've done on your work that give your layout/page/code an impressive/clean/professional sort of look.

Oh, I want my site to be less image intensive than it currently is, so I'm going to be resizing/changing the button layout.

Everything will be Javascript/PHP/mySQL/html/CSS based.


Thanks for any tips!
 
Here are some tips:

I've learned over the years that proper use of colors, fonts and whitespace should form the foundation of your web pages. It can mean the difference between a professional looking site and a crappy one.
Use screen readable, browser neutral fonts (E.g. - verdana for small print, arial or georgia for headings), and as a last resort make sure your stylesheet defaults to sans-serif or serif.
Use complimentary or "close" colors in your scheme (E.g. Blue/yellow, shades of green, etc..).
Use whitespace to clearly separate different areas of your content. Don't overwhelm people with a solid wall of dense, unpadded text. Use line-height to "loosen up" your paragraphs.

Subtlety is the key; use images sparingly and don't overdo it with the Javascript/AJAX stuff. It's very easy to get carried away, especially when you just discovered some new fangled technique or technology.
 
In-line with maw's comments above ...
- Keep your style consistent
- Less is more
- Keep yourself grounded with ease of use, functionality, UI development, etc.
- Ensure that your site design keeps the eye focused on the substance, and not distracted by flashy filler

Other than the above words of warning, I think any additional advice to give is from a business perspective ... Who are your competitors? Who are in your same field? I'm not looking for answers necessarily, but you should know this. Look at their site designs, and itemize what is good, what needs improvement, etc. Also find out who is currently ahead of you in your field, and analyze what they are doing well and whether you could (or even should) incorporate their design ideas.
 
Thanks much for the tips, both the nifty corners tip and the more tippish tips :)


Anyway, for what it's worth 100% of my "work" is done for myself... At the moment I'm honestly just trying to get a grasp on various technologies, like AJAX, etc. At this point I'd say I'm sort of trying to see which Legos I have, so I can see how they might fit together to make something.

General design advice is something I'll definitely keep in mind, but I guess I'm looking inspiration. Simple, basic techniques or methods that are used in GOOD websites, that I can look at and think, "oh, that would be really useful for ________".

Anyway, thanks for your help and shared experiences:)

edit: and I just want to make sure it's clear that I really do appreciate the advice above - even the little things like font recommendations, etc, are much appreciated.

One specific question (though please don't focus too much on it!), in general how do you design a webpage, resolution wise? I mean of course things should be resize able, but still is 800x600 still a "general rule of thumb", or is 1024x768+ an acceptable "best practice"?

bonus extra question: is there any standard method for comparing zip codes/addresses? IE if I wanted a simple page that took two zip codes, is there an easy way to find the approx distance between them? I realize this probably goes beyond the built in PHP/javascript/etc functions, but I'm curious :)
 
Currently, about 60% of all monitors are set at 1024x768 pixels. In comparison, only about 17% use 800x600 so it's obviously less important to aim at perfection for these small-display users. However, you can't simply ignore 17% of your customer segment by providing a frozen layout that requires more screen space than they have available.
 
The Donut said:
Currently, about 60% of all monitors are set at 1024x768 pixels. In comparison, only about 17% use 800x600 so it's obviously less important to aim at perfection for these small-display users. However, you can't simply ignore 17% of your customer segment by providing a frozen layout that requires more screen space than they have available.
Click to expand...
Where did you find this info?
 
Having read a variety of CSS books as of late, Sitepoint: Beautiful Web Design and some other CSS/HTML books state similar statistics.
 
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